K-Var corp has krinkov parts kits for $399 minus receivers. What kind of receivers do they use? Can you use a standard AK47 receiver? Will the parts kits fit a regular receiver? What kind of special tools do you have to use to assemble a krinkov parts kit on a receiver?

Any help with this would be appreciated. Thanks

Might get more views if you post it here:

ak.ar15.com/forums/index.html?board=1

I've been reading up on Krinks off and on for a year now, and I still get confused.

You can use several different receivers, but you must use the correct type for the kind of weapon you want to build. Some receivers work better than others for folders, and if you want to go all out, you might need a pre-ban.

As for tools, at some point you need to press the barrel onto the barrel trunion, which requires some type of machine press.

I think the AK side of this board has some info on Krinkovs.

I ran across a link yesterday that might be a springboard for more reading, and has links to some manufacturers.

www.aks-74u.com/


Or you could try this one.

www.gunsnet.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=4b795de0fd2575b050af5c96505c1a45&forumid=40

Or, I could be completely wrong.

For $399, I am assuming that is the 5.56 kit you are referring to?  I think the 5.45 and 7.62 kits are both cheaper.  The quick answer is that any stamped receiver can be made to work.  However, it would be best to just pick up a 5.56 AK (or 5.45 if postban is OK) and work from there.   If you want to keep all the "evil" features, a pre-ban 84s would be the best route - try to find a real beat up, shot out one for cheap - after all, you're going to be replacing most of the stuff anyways.   A pre-ban 7.62 gun would need more work - I believe the rails are a bit shorter on those as well as the mag wells a bit larger.

If you're going postban, there was also a Norinco model available (forget the designation - nmh-91, maybe) as well as the SAR-2 or SAR-3 series.   I believe Ohio Ordnance also made an ak-74 receiver, which will work nicely and you can use the trunion that came with the kit (see below) - not sure if they're still being produced however, and if I remember correctly, they were pretty expensive.  I've also seen some barreled 5.45x39 actions which would probably work, and save you some $$$ as you wouldn't need to buy the whole rifle.

However, if you are going to have it built on an existing gun, there are some things to consider - namely, the front trunion is often where the serial number is stamped, and not in fact on the receiver.  I know my 84s is this way, and I think my SAR-1 and 2 are as well (not at home to check at the moment).  What this means is that swapping out the trunion with the correct one that comes in your kit is of questionable legality.  Basically, removing the serialized trunion is removing the serial number from the rifle (even if you stamp it on the new trunion), and apparently the only entity the ATF allows to legally reserialize a firearm is the original manufacturer.   Several people have apparently tried to get a final answer from the ATF regarding this, but it seems to be a pandora's box they don't want to open.  Some gunsmiths will do this, other's won't.  So... if you want to remain without a doubt 100% legal, you need to use the original trunion, which will mean you'll either need to sleeve the barrel, or turn down the barrel or open up the trunion as necessary.  

I don't have the details of the 5.56 kit, but I have a 5.45 kit that I am going to have built on my 84s, and the barrel for the 5.45 is of a slightly smaller diameter than the chinese 5.56, and so it will need to be sleeved.  Many people have had this done, however, and it seems work out just fine.

A good place for more information would be the Krinkov forum over at http://www.ak-47.net .

Rocko

Oh yeah, in case you haven't figured it out, this won't be a cheap project, depending on how "correctly" you want it done.  AK's aren't really a DIY type of gun - probably a couple of orders of magnitude more difficult than an AR build.  

$400 for your kit
$300-400 for a smith
$200 for your tax stamp (if you SBR it...)
$40-$800 depending on what you build it on (AIM has 7.62 receivers on sale for $40 now, I think, up to the you'll likely pay $700-$800 for a preban 84s)

As for tools if you want to build it yourself, I've never attempted one myself, just going on hearsay and common sense, but... 10-20 ton press for the barrel (will need to make your own jig), metal lathe (depending on how you build it - if you'll need to fit the barrel to the existing trunion of a gun), drill press (to drill the holes for the rear trunion and for the front if working with a bare receiver), welder (to fill in any existing holes), you'll need to fabricate a bucking bar for the rivets, and a bunch of other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting.   However, the point is, it is a lot of stuff ;), basically you need access to a full machine shop.

Rocko